Drape fixture



L. M. DIXON DRAPE FIXTURE April 22, 1947.

Filed Sept. 18, 1945 I I I l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I INVENTOR 5Zea/115' AJ. alta/w ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 22, 1947 DRAPE FIXTURE LewisM. Dixon, Sea Clii, N. Y.

Application September 18, 1945, Serial No. 617,092

`This invention relates to curtains, drapes, portieres and the like, andmore particularly to opevi-ating means for the same, whereby they maybe. drawn closed, or opened.

The invention is concerned especially with cur- .tain or ydrape fixtureswherein there is a hori- Zontal bar or rod, slidably carrying aplurality of hangers to which the curtain material is attached, thelatter being supported so as to hang from the rod. Various devices havebeen proposed in the past for operating such curtains to draw or openthe same, these devices including pull cords and pulleys, and alsocomparatively rigid operating poles or strips which are secured to thehangers, and hang pendant therefrom within reach of a person on the oor.These devices khave involved special fittings, some of which at timesget out of ordei` or do not operate smoothly, all of the fittingsgenerally complicating the curtain structure and increasing the cost ofsame substantially.

- An object of the present invention is to obviate these disadvantagesand drawbacks of prior devices. This is accomplished by the provision,in a curtain or drape, of an improved, troublefree, simple andeconomically produceable operating means whereby the drape may beconveniently drawn closed, or opened. This operating means may beprovided in combination with a set of drapes, or may be providedseparately as an attachment, to be quickly conveniently incorporated inexisting drapes, in either case its operation being extremely simple,and troubleproof over an extended period of time.

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated herein asexemplary thereof the drape operating means comprises an extremelysimple two-part structure comprising an apertured block adapted to beslidably carried on the drap-e rod, and an elongate handle secured tothe block and hanging pendant therefrom within easy reachof a personstanding on the iioor. The aperture or bore of the block which receivesthe drape rod has sufficient length to prevent the block from Cantin-gor binding on the rod, yet the overall size of the block is small enoughso that it may be carried between a pair of adjacent or adjoininghangers. Preferably the handie is pivotally connected to the block, sothat during its operation the possibility of binding of the block isfurther minimized.

According to the invention the operating means comprising the block andhandle may be mounted in back of a drape at the leading edge thereof soas to be invisible to occupants of a 6 Claims. (Cl. 16B-341) room `andyet be conveniently accessible for use. No change is necessary in thehangers or rod of the drape, or inthe drape itself, and therefore the'cost of incorporating the operating means with a set of drapes is keptto a minimum. Also, the installation of the operating means in anexisting set of drapes is thereby simplified and made convenient.

Other features and advantages Willhereinafte'r appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a set of drapes having incorporatedtheoperating means of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail showing one drape operating means infragmentary rear elevation, asinstalled, and

Fig. 3 is al fragmentary side elevation of the installed operatingmeans.

Referring to the figures, the drape assembly and operating means of thisinvention comprises a horizontal rod IG which may be mounted in anysuitable manner on the framework II of a window I2. Slid'ably carried onthe 'rod I0 are rings or hangers I3 to which the drape material I4 issecured, as by sewing at spaced intervals.

According to the invention individual, novel operating means I5,identical with each other, are provided for each of the drapes I4, eachof said means comprising a block I 3 having an aperture or opening I1 toslidably receive the rod IU. Theblocks IE5 may have any suitable shape,however, as shown they are substantially cylindrical, with their uppersides flatted at I8, as seen `in Figs. 2 and 3. The flats I8 of theblocks extend generally parallel with the axes of the apertures I'I, andthe sizes of the blocks It are such that they may be carried on the rodII) each between a different pair 'of' adjoining hangers I3, preferablyto extend in close proximity to the latter.

As shown in Fig, 3, the aperture vI1 of the block i6 is slightly largerthan the diameter of the rod I0, so that the block may slide easily onthe rod. Due to the lengths of the apertures I1 in the blocks, thelatter cannot cant or tilt to any substantial degree and bind on the rodIU.

For the purpose of conveniently sliding the blocks I5 along the rod IIlto either close or open the drapes, elongate handles I9 are provided,extending downwardly from the blocks to within reach vof a person on theoor. The handles I9 may be secured to the blocks I6 in any suitablemanner, either rigidly or flexibly, but preferably they are pivotallysecured so that the 3 possibility of binding of the blocks is furtherminimized when they are being operated.

In accomplishing this the blocks i6 are provided with slots 20 and theupper ends of the handles I9 with flats 2I, so that the said ends may beloosely received in the slots. The blocks I6 and the upper ends of thehandles I9 are provided with aligned apertures to receive pivot pins 22by which the handles are pivotly secured to the blocks.

The blocks I3 and handles I9 may be of any suitable material such aswood or plastic, which may be economically fabricated in largequantitles.

To insure easy sliding of the blocks on the rod I0, the apertures I'Iare made with smooth surfaces, and if wood is employed for the materialof the blocks, the walls of the apertures l1 may be waxed or otherwisetreated to enable them to slide easily on the drape rod.

Referring to Fig. 1, the blocks I6 may be carried by the rod Il) betweenadjoining pairs of hangers I3 located adjacent the inner edges of thedrapes I4. When so mounted the blocks I6 V'and handles I 9 are normallyhidden from view are not readily distinguishable from the outside of thewindow.

` In operation, to draw back the drapes the handles I9 are merelygrasped at their lower ends and manipulated to move the blocks I6 towardthe sides of the window. This will cause the hangers and drapes tolikewise move aside, the latter becoming folded as the hangers arebrought together. In a similar manner, the drapes may be extended ordrawn over the window.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides an extremelysimple and foolproof operating means for drapes and the like, which doesnot require modification of the drape rod I0, hangers I3 or of the drapematerial I4. This is an extremely advantageous feature, since it enablesthe operating means to be incorporated in sets of drapes at extremelylow cost, and also enables the operating means to be distributed as anattachment for existing drapes. An attachment such as this is extremelyeasy and convenient toinstall, since it is merely necessary to mount theblocks in the proper places on the drape rods between adjoining endhan-gers.

Variations and modiiication may be made within the scope of thisinvention and portions of the improvements'may be used without others.

Iclaim:

1. For-use with a drape xture having a horizontal rod and drape materialsuspended by hangers slidable on said rod, a member apertured toslidably receive and be carried by the rod, said member being positionedbetween adjacent hangers, the extent of engagement of said member Vonthe rod preventing its canting and binding on the rod; and an elongatehandle secured to the member for extending from the latter to withinreach of a person on the floor whereby the member may be slid along therod to move the hangers and drape material carried thereby.

2. For use with a drape fixture having a horizontal rod and drapematerial suspended by hangers slidable on said rod, a substantially hatmember having an aperture extending between opposite end faces forslidably receiving the rod, the width of the member between said facespreventing canting and binding on the rod, and the member being carriedby the rod between a pair of adjoining hangers; and an elongate handlesecured to the member for extending from the latter to within reach of aperson on the floor whereby the member may be slid along the drape rodto move the hangers and drape material carried thereby.

3. For use with a drape fixture having a horizontal rod and drapematerial suspended by hangers slidable on said rod, a block'having anaperture for slidably receiving the rod, said block being adapted to becarried by the rod between a pair of adjoining hangers; and an elongatehandle secured to the block, for extending from the latter to withinreach of a person on the oor whereby the block may be slid along thecurtain rod to move the hangers and drape material carried thereby.

4. For use with a drape fixture having a` horizontal rod and drapematerial suspended by hangers slidable on said rod, a collar having abore for slidably receiving the rod, said collar being.

adapted to be carried by the rod between a pair or" adjoining hangers,and the bore being elongate to prevent canting` and binding of thecollar on the rod; and an elongate handle secured to the collar forextending laterally from the latter to within reach of a person on thefloor whereby the collar may be slid along the drape rod to move thehangers and drape material carried thereby.

5. For use with a drape fixture having a horizontal rod and drapematerial suspended by hangers slidable on said rod, a block having aslot in one face, and having an opening extending through it forslidably receiving the rod, said block being adapted to be carried bythe rod between a pair of adjoining hangers; an elongate handle adaptedat one end to fit into the slot of the block, said end and block havingaligned apertures; and a pin extending throughV the aligned apertures ofthe block and handle to pivotally connect the same together, the handleextending from the block to within reach of a person on the floorlwhereby the block may be slid along the drape rod to move theVhangers'and drape 'material carried thereby.

Y 6. In a drape ixtu're having a horizontal rod and drape materialsuspended by hangers slidable on said rod, the combination with a pairof adjoining hangers adjacent the edge of the drape of an aperturedblock slidably carried by the rod and extending between the adjoininghangers; and an elongate handle pivotally connected to the block andextending to within reach of a personon the floor whereby the block maybe slid along the drape rod to move the hangers and drape materialcarried thereby.-

LEWIS M. DIXON REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date German Oct.16, 1930 Number

